First overall selection Nail Yakupov didn’t work out. Thirty-second overall pick Mitch Moroz is the highest pick that year yet to reach the NHL, and given that he’s currently a depth scorer with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads it seems likely he’ll hold that distinction eternally. We might also mention the club’s deep and abiding love for Griffin Reinhart, the player who went fourth overall and was later dealt to the Oilers by the New York Islanders.

The Oilers did snag Jujhar Khaira in the third round, and that decision is starting to pay dividends. They also have done well with a couple of players who were draft-eligible that year but didn’t get selected. Drake Caggiula and Anton Slepyshev were first available to be drafted in 2012, and while neither one was, both eventually found their way to the NHL in an Oilers uniform.

Putting this in the context of their original NHL draft class...

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